Kris Marshall forced to give up 'wow-factor' Cornish home

Kris Marshall, 51, quit Death in Paradise in 2017 as he wanted to move his family back from the Caribbean, but he landed on his feet with the spin-off show, Beyond Paradise, that has allowed him to film in Cornwall, much closer to his wife Hannah Dodkin and two children, Thomas and Elsie.

However, Cornwall is a bittersweet place for the actor who plays Di Humphrey Goodman because he was sadly forced to give up a property there back in 2016.

It was a Grade II listed converted chapel called Kirk House and in an interview with The Times, Kris confessed his Cornwall home became "impractical" to rent out when he resided in the Caribbean.

"I ended up running it as a full-time holiday let for 10 years. It’s been brilliant," he explained to the publication. "The house had been converted into a wow-factor holiday let when I bought it, but I've done a lot of work."

© Getty Images

On his decision to relinquish the property, he said: "I still love Cornwall, especially when the sun is out, but there's give and take when you do holiday lets. We can’t just bolt down there as a family, and I don’t want to run the business any more. I’m quite busy and it's impractical to do it from the Caribbean — it's just too far."

© Red Planet Pictures/Joss Barratt/BBC

Typically now Kris is back in Cornwall for filming commitments, making this former decision all the more heartbreaking.

Quitting Death in Paradise

© TV Times

In an interview with Radio Times the star spoke about his shock decision to quit Death in Paradise. "When I was first offered the job, my son was six months old and my wife wasn't working, so it was a very easy decision. We decided I would do Death in Paradise for a few years until it became impractical."

At the time, Kris found himself in hot water over his comments about his son becoming "a bit too Caribbean" after spending three years on the island of Guadeloupe. 

He since apologised for his "naive use of words" and instead spoke about his "four wonderful years" on the island.

© Denis Guyenon, BBC

Life back in the UK

Kris and his family now reside in the West Country city of Bath, which is actually where the actor was born.

"I am a West Country boy so anything that keeps me rooted in the West Country is great," Kris told ITV when he was promoting Beyond Paradise.